Mary and Alvin Ch. 06

When she heard Alvin coming down the stairs she crossed the room. She didn't want him to know she'd been looking at the pictures. He had changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and was carrying a stack of bedding. He set it down on the seat of the rocking chair, and took a t-shirt from the top of the pile. He held it up and showed it to Mary.

"I thought this might make for a good night shirt for you. Sorry it's a Celtics logo, don't have one with the Lakers."

"It will be fine, thank you." She took the shirt and went upstairs to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Alvin stretched a sheet across the couch and tucked the edges under the cushions. He fluffed up a couple of pillows and spread out the quilt. When Mary returned, she smiled at the cozy bed he had made for her.

"You may not be a Celtics fan," Alvin said, "but anybody seeing you in that shirt would be."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. He raised the quilt and she crawled under it. Alvin leaned over and kissed her tenderly, then reached up and turned off the lamp. He sat down in the recliner and leaned it back, pulling his blanket over him.

Mary felt a weight land on the foot of the couch and could make out the shape of Angus, settling into a snug nest between her legs and the back cushion.

She closed her eyes, but sleep did not come. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the picture on the mantel and the empty bed upstairs. She listened to the rain, and the cat's purr, and to Alvin. He was restless, constantly shifting in his chair.

"Alvin?" she said, barely above a whisper.

"Yes, dear?"

"Tell me about her."

Alvin was silent for a moment.

"It's hard, Mary."

"I know it is."

Another moment of silence passed.

"There was an ice storm..." he began, then paused. Mary reached across the gap between the couch and the chair and touched his arm. He squeezed her hand and continued.

"I was down to the wharf checking that everything was alright, and I slipped and fell. Landed on my arm and stove up my wrist wicked bad. Wasn't broke, but pretty jacked up. I went to the E.R. and she patched me up. She was brand new too, hadn't been there but a few weeks."

"How old were you?"

"Nineteen. She was twenty. See, it hasn't always been the younger ladies for me."

"So, let me guess. You asked her to go sailing with you?"

Alvin chuckled. "No. Turns out she hated sailing, hated being on boats at all. What she liked was her hands in the dirt."

He stopped talking and Mary thought he had said all he was going to say. But then he began speaking again. Mary lay quietly listening. He told her about helping Bonnie clear the ice from her car windows, struggling to use the scraper with his one good arm. He told how she had given him her number, but it had blurred in the rain,and how he had come to the hospital again the next day to find her.

"Funny thing, though. When I found her and asked her out, she said no."

"Why did she say no?"

Bonnie had a boyfriend, or at least, a guy she was seeing. His name was David LePierre. He was a paramedic she had met while doing her nurse's training. Alvin asked her why, if that was the case, she had given him her number.

"Well, you were so kind, helping me with the ice, even with your injured wrist."

"Winter ain't over," he replied, "might be a chance I'm kind again."

Bonnie laughed at that. "Listen, maybe. Let me think about it. Give me your number."

"You've got my number on your paperwork."

"It wouldn't be ethical to call you because I got your number off your medical records."

"But it's the same number either way."

"Write it down," she insisted, and so he did. He left feeling dejected, but at least he had taken his shot.

While the wharf was closed for the winter Alvin was working at his Uncle Harry's sprawling junkyard, just outside of town. Harry was completely disorganized, and Alvin was trying to sort through and catalog hundreds of car parts, small appliances and other junk. It had been two weeks since he'd injured his arm, and while it was still sore, it had regained most of its functionality.

He came home after a day of sorting to find a note pinned to the cork board next to the wall mounted phone in the kitchen. It read "Alvin-Call Bonnie" with a phone number scrawled beneath. He got a can of Coke from the refrigerator and sat down at the table, staring at the note. He'd given up on the idea of going out with Bonnie, but now it might be a possibility. But he was wary. She'd given him her number once before, after all, and then turned him down.

He dialed the number. A woman answered.

"Hello, Bonnie?"

"No, this is Sandy. Hang on." He heard her yelling in the background, "Bonnie, a guy for you!"

There was a moment of murmuring in the background, then Bonnie came on the line and said hello.

"Hi, it's Alvin. I got a message you called."

"Yeah, I did," she said, then went silent.

"Uh, so, what's up?" he asked.

"I was wondering.I wanted to go see Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Want to go with me?"

"When?"

"Saturday? I was thinking, you kind of look a little like Keanu Reeves, don't you think?"

"Not really. Isn't he Hawaiian or something?"

"I don't know. I guess. So, do you want to go?"

"What happened to that David?"

"Well, I decided I didn't want to just see one guy. I mean, we don't have a commitment or anything."

"Well, sure. I'd like to see you."

"Great!" She gave him her address and details about the movie time and said goodbye.

Alvin was on her porch right on time, freshly shaved and showered and wearing his nice clothes. A short, burly man answered the door and looked him over.

"You here for Bonnie, son?"

"Yes sir."

The man gave him one more look, then decided to let him in.

"Bonnie!" the man cried, "your fella is here." He gestured to the couch. "Sit down, kid. God knows how frickin' long she's gonna be."

"Alright. That's fine, no hurry."

"The wife's gone to Bingo down to the Redmen's Hall."

"Um, okay."

Bonnie's father picked up his Bangor Daily News and began reading. Alvin sat waiting nervously. It was a long few minutes before Bonnie came bounding down the stairs, followed closely by a smaller version of herself. The younger girl was clearly curious to see who her big sister was dating.

Bonnie took Alvin's arm and headed out the door. "See you later, Papa," she called, without waiting for a response.

They both enjoyed the movie, but agreed that Alvin did not really look much like Keanu Reeves after all. Afterwards, Alvin suggested that they go for a pizza or burgers, but Bonnie declined, saying that she had a busy schedule the next day. When Alvin walked her to the door, she said good night, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went inside. He stood on the porch for a minute wondering if he'd somehow put her off. He drove home feeling disappointed. He thought about calling her all day Sunday, but when he finally got up the nerve to do so, her mother answered and told him that she was at work.

He tried again on Monday, and this time, her mother called her to the phone.

"I hope you had a nice time Saturday," he said after they had exchanged greetings.

"I had a very nice time."

"Good. Because you seemed kind of in a rush to get home."

"Oh, well, we had family stuff planned, and I had to work last night, so I just didn't want to be out late."

"Well, alright then. So, maybe we could go out again next weekend."

"Uh, no," she replied,hesitantly, "I've got plans."

"Oh." Alvin realized that her plans probably included that goddamn paramedic. "Well maybe some other time."

"Okay. Give me a call then."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Alvin hung up the phone, but before he could stand up, it rang.

"Step up your game, bub," Bonnie said.

"What?"

"If you want me to go out with you, act like it."

She hung up the phone. Alvin sat for a while, perplexed. He'd been perfectly nice to her, he didn't understand what he was supposed to do.

Diana came into the kitchen, carrying a bag of groceries. As she put them away, Alvin described the conversation he'd had with Bonnie.

"Let me ask you a question," Diana said when he had finished, "Did you open the car door for her?"

Alvin blushed. "No, I guess I didn't"

"Uh huh. Where did go for supper?"

"We just went to the movies."

"So, you spent what? Five bucks on her? Assuming you bought her popcorn."

"I don't think it ought to be about how much you spend."

"No, it ought to be about if you treat her like she's worth spending something on."

"She said to pick her up for the movie, so that's what I did."

"You should have suggested going to supper first. Even if she didn't want to, you'd get points for asking."

"So, I ought to be doing candy and flowers and all that."

"You know what your problem is? Every girlfriend you ever had, you treated her like you were pals. Well, that's okay for high school, but not a grown up woman."

Alvin thought about what Diana said. "Alright, so I ought to do the whole romance thing, candy and flowers and all that."

"Don't be a simpleton," Diana laughed, "Sure, get her candy and flowers but think past that. It's not what you buy her, it's how you treat her."

Diana got up and took a soda from the refrigerator. As she turned to leave she said, over her shoulder, "Ask yourself, what would John Cusack do?"

"I have no idea what that means."

"There's your problem right there," she said as she left the room.

Alvin pondered his sister's advice. He recognized that she was right. And he thought about Bonnie's exasperated words. If he wanted to go out with her, and he did, he would act like he did. He picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"Jeezum," Bonnie's mother said at the sound of his voice, "Bons, that guy again."

Bonnie came on the line.

"Hey, I was thinking, "Alvin said, "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Working."

"Wednesday?"

"Working."

"Thursday?"

"I'm off."

"Would you go for supper with me?"

"Where?"

Alvin was about to ask her where they ought to go, but caught himself. "Let me surprise you."

"Okay. What time?"

"I'll pick you up at six."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

Alvin hung up and sat for a few minutes, wondering what to do next. Finally he decided to go upstairs and ask Diana to suggest some restaurants in Rockland.

By Thursday, he was ready, or at least as ready as he could be. He had found a dinner jacket in his father's closet that was only slightly too wide in the shoulders for him. He had polished his shoes and trimmed his nails. He had even washed his car.

Bonnie's father opened the door and saw Alvin standing there in his Dad's jacket, holding the small bouquet he'd picked up at the florist, and bellowed over his shoulder, "Bonnie! You going to the prom?" But as Alvin stepped into the room, he patted him on the back and grinned.

Bonnie came down the stairs in a pretty pale green dress. She smiled at Alvin and took the flowers. Her mother came in from the kitchen and introduced herself.

"You two have a lovely evening," she said, as Alvin helped Bonnie into her coat.

"Bring home leftovers," her father said from behind his newspaper.

"Oh hush, I've got chop suey in the oven," his wife admonished him.

"Bring home lots of leftovers," he muttered.

Alvin walked Bonnie to the car and opened the door for her.

"Where are we going?" she asked when he'd gotten behind the wheel.

"I made reservations at The Pearl Inn."

"Oh, that's a nice place."

A light snow was falling as they arrived at the Inn. It was one of the most expensive restaurants in town, located on the harbor pier.

"I'm always nervous at these high end places," Alvin told Bonnie as they waited for their server, "I'm afraid I will use the wrong fork or something."

"And what do you think will happen if you do?"

He shrugged, and she said, "I promise that if you use the wrong fork, I will go out with you again."

"Good, you just promised to go out with me again."

Bonnie laughed, "Sure, if you are going to take me to places like this."

Alvin had picked up some good tips from Diana. He had opened the door for Bonnie and he had held out her chair when they arrived at their table. He let her order first and most importantly, according to his sister, he let her talk, and he listened.

When he asked Bonnie why she had become a nurse, her face lit up.

"It's all I ever wanted to be. Did you ever notice that nurse and nurture are related words? People think about nurses and they think about, I don't know, bedpans, changing bandages, whatever. They don't think about the time we spend with patients, with their families. We are almost like ministers in a way, on top of everything else."

"Would you ever want to become a doctor?" Alvin asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "No. Doctors fix. Nurses heal."

She talked all the way through their meal, about her patients, her co-workers, her family. Alvin was content to listen, and to learn about her. She was smart and witty and observant. Long after their plates were cleared, he sat, his chin on his fist, enraptured by her.

"Our waitress is sort of hovering," she whispered to Alvin eventually, "I think she'd like us to go."

As they were preparing to leave, Alvin excused himself to use the men's room.

"I'll meet you outside," Bonnie said, "I'm dying for some fresh air."

When Alvin stepped outside a few minutes later Bonnie was standing at the railing, looking out at the harbor lights sparkling on the dark waves. She turned and looked at him, lit from a lamp post over her shoulder. Snow glittered in her hair like the light danced on the water. She looked up, and stuck out her tongue to catch a snowflake. Alvin crossed to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her. She sighed softly and kissed him back.

Alvin lowered the foot of his recliner and stood up.

"Still with me, Miss Mary?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm still listening."

"I need some water. Can I get you some."

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

He went to the kitchen, filled a glass and took a long drink. He topped the glass off and took it back to the living room.

"That's when you knew," Mary said, as he reclined.

"What's that, dear?"

"When she caught the snowflake on her tongue, you knew you were in love with her."

Alvin was quiet for a minute and then said, softly, "I suppose I did."

"And she was in already in love with you."

"Maybe. It was awful quick for that."

"Sometimes it is quick."

"Well, that weekend was the last time she went out with that LePierre dubber, I know that."

He told Mary that while he and Bonnie had dated steadily, when winter gave way to spring and Alvin became busy with opening the wharf for the season, it was difficult to find time to see each other. The relationship strained, but did not break. On a blustery Easter weekend, they managed to arrange time off together. They met in Camden and spent the weekend making love in a room at the Lord Camden Inn.

"I wish I had a more romantic tale," Alvin told Mary, "but it was just a wicked pain in my ass, trying to see each other with me at the wharf all day, her working second shifts that didn't get her out until late. And then she'd go home to Rockland. So, after a bit we just said, frick it, let's get a place together."

They rented a little house on Oak Street, furnishing it primarily with second hand items from Goodwill. The one thing Bonnie insisted on was that they buy a new bed, and so they went to McCoy's Furniture and bought the big four poster.

They only had a small side yard, but Bonnie wanted a garden, so Alvin turned the earth and they managed to find room for a row of tomato plants and a few sweet peppers. Alvin built a flower box for her, and she filled it with marigolds. Even such a tiny garden became a place of solace for Bonnie after a stressful day of work.

As Mary listened to Alvin, she thought his tale of the little house and Bonnie's garden sounded quite romantic. She wished she could have seen him as a young man.

"We stared talking about getting married not long after," Alvin said, "I don't recall exactly, but it was still summer. Actually, we started talking about kids, and that got us thinking that we ought to tie the knot."

"I would have thought you made a big show of proposing," Mary said.

"Well, I did it right, got done on one knee and all."

It was a balmy late summer evening. They had enjoyed a supper of grilled steaks served with thick slices of Bonnie's tomatoes. After they ate, they walked down to the little variety store on the corner and bought popsicles. As they made their way home, Alvin took Bonnie's hand.

"You know," he said, "I didn't want to come back here after my Dad died. But now, I look around this town, and I love it here. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else." He stopped at the path to their door and turned to face her. "But, mostly, I love it because I'm here with you." He kissed her and her lips tasted of sweet cherry.

"I love you Alvin."

He was overcome with emotion, and impulsively, he dropped to his knee. He flung the last of his popsicle aside and took her hand.

"Bonnie Pierce," he said, tears welling in his eyes, "will you marry me?"

Bonnie stroked his head. "Alvin Faulkner, I will marry you."

He stood and took her in his arms.

"Why are you crying?" she asked him.

"Just happy tears, honey."

They sat on the porch and held each other. Fireflies flickered in the bushes and they watched them dance for a while, then went inside to bed.

The wedding was in April. It was a windy day and the threat of rain loomed as Alvin and Bonnie, surrounded by their friends and families, pledged their love in the little gazebo at the city park. The weather held though, until after the ceremony had ended, the cake had been cut and the guests had made their way home. They spent their wedding night making love at the Ocean View Bed and Breakfast, and in the morning drove to Quebec for their honeymoon.

A year later, Bonnie came home from her shift at the hospital with a pregnancy test. Alvin had been ambivalent about having children. He accepted that it was something that they would do, but he felt no particular urgency or enthusiasm about it. As soon as the test read positive, that changed. He fell in love with the idea of fatherhood, and on the cold January night when he first held Charlotte in his arms, he fell in love with the reality. He dreamed of a son, but when Jennifer came two years later, he could not have been happier.

Alvin's voice broke as he told Mary about the births of his daughters. She could hear the love in his words and for the first time in a long time, she felt the sting of disappointment that Wyatt had been so resistant to having children.

Alvin got up and went to the bathroom. Mary sat up on the couch, wrapping the quilt tightly around her. She was getting very sleepy but she was determined to listen to Alvin tell his story. Bonnie's story.

"I ought to let you get to sleep," he said when he came back into the living room.

"I'm okay," she replied. He sat back in his chair, but did not recline.

Alvin told Mary how the wharf had prospered as he and Diana gained experience running the business. They were doing well enough that they needed more help and hired their cousin Laura.

When Bonnie got her certification as a Registered Nurse, she and Alvin started hunting for a house of their own. But shortly after Charlotte started kindergarten, their plans changed.

Alvin had just finished raking leaves in the front yard and was watching Jennifer jumping in the pile and undoing all his efforts when the phone rang. It was Bonnie, calling from the hospital.

"Honey, it's your Mom. She's in the E.R. It looks like she had a heart attack."